Exploring Just Transition in the Global South

The report examines how a 'just transition'—ensuring the costs of moving to low-carbon societies are fairly distributed—can be applied in the Global South. Through studies in nine countries, it identifies systemic barriers such as high rates of informal labour, insecure land tenure, and a lack of socio-economic data. It argues that international climate finance is currently too focused on technical transitions and must be broadened to support the social and economic needs of affected communities, including re-skilling and social safety nets.

• Familiarity with the just transition concept is often superficial in Global South countries, even when governments include it in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) or domestic climate plans.
• The prevalence of informal labour markets in the Global South complicates just transition efforts, as these workers often lack union representation and are not recognised by national manpower laws or social security schemes.
• Insecure and poorly defined land tenure systems in the Global South can leave vulnerable groups, particularly women and indigenous people, excluded from support strategies for climate adaptation or mitigation.
• In some instances, climate adaptation programmes may inadvertently increase the vulnerability of smallholder farmers by benefiting larger investors and restricting access to critical resources like water.
• Energy transition debates in the Global South do not always start from a premise of low-carbon transition, as some governments continue to promote high-carbon industries like coal to drive industrialisation and economic growth.
• Significant gaps in data regarding income, poverty, and employment impacts, as well as a lack of local expertise, hinder the ability of governments to plan and maintain continuity in just transition strategies.
• International climate finance is primarily targeted at techno-economic transitions to reduce emissions or adapt to impacts, with insufficient funding for the socio-economic measures required to ensure outcomes are just.

APA

Atteridge, A., Hunjan, N., Lestari, T., Azifa, A., Angelia, D., Anaman, K. A., Anartey, P., Garcia, H., Mortuza, S., Selim, S. A., Irfanullah, H. M., Sultana, R., Ahmed, M., Jamil, P. S. R., Islam, S., Mulwa, R., Musembi, E., Mwalukomo, H., Majiga-Kamoto, G., ... Aneise, A. J. (2022). Exploring Just Transition in the Global South. Climate Strategies. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Exploring-Just-Transition-in-the-Global-South_FINAL.pdf

Chicago

Atteridge, Aaron, Nia Hunjan, Tari Lestari, Azka Azifa, Dewa Angelia, Kwabena A. Anaman, Paul Anartey, et al. Exploring Just Transition in the Global South. Climate Strategies, 2022. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Exploring-Just-Transition-in-the-Global-South_FINAL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Atteridge |first1=Aaron |last2=Hunjan |first2=Nia |last3=Lestari |first3=Tari |last4=Azifa |first4=Azka |last5=Angelia |first5=Dewa |last6=Anaman |first6=Kwabena A. |last7=Anartey |first7=Paul |last8=Garcia |first8=Helena |last9=Mortuza |first9=Shamsad |display-authors=etal |title=Exploring Just Transition in the Global South |publisher=Climate Strategies |date=2022 |url=https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Exploring-Just-Transition-in-the-Global-South_FINAL.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{atteridge2022exploring, author = {Atteridge, Aaron and Hunjan, Nia and Lestari, Tari and Azifa, Azka and Angelia, Dewa and Anaman, Kwabena A. and Anartey, Paul and Garcia, Helena and Mortuza, Shamsad and Selim, Samiya A and Irfanullah, Haseeb Md. and Sultana, Rumana and Ahmed, Minhazuddin and Jamil, Pinki Shah Raihan and Islam, Shegufta and Mulwa, Richard and Musembi, Elly and Mwalukomo, Herbert and Majiga-Kamoto, Gloria and Kambwiri, Alfred and Anh, Nguyen Thi Mai and Ngo, Nhien and Kyophilavong, Phouphet and Fernandez, Mauro and Aneise, Ana Julia}, title = {{Exploring Just Transition in the Global South}}, institution = {Climate Strategies}, year = {2022}, url = {https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Exploring-Just-Transition-in-the-Global-South_FINAL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }